


Yours, Mine & Ours

by wonderstruckk



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-06-20 07:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15529425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderstruckk/pseuds/wonderstruckk
Summary: Beca is a widowed music producer with 8 kids. Chloe is a widowed actress with 10 (4 biological, 6 adopted). When the two former high school sweethearts are reunited unexpectedly by a pesky talk show host, they quickly marry and unite their two families. But will this sudden change stir up trouble between the newlyweds?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm currently lacking any inspiration for working on oneshots and Picture Perfect, so I figured I'd try and get the juices flowing by turning one of my favorite movies growing up into a Bechloe fic! This fic is based on the movie Yours, Mine, & Ours starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo. If you haven't watched it, I'd definitely recommend! It's hilarious!
> 
> This is going to be a three part story, so the next two parts will be posted tomorrow and the following day, respectively. Enjoy!

The sound of her alarm clock blaring quickly alerts Beca to the fact that she needs to get up and get the kids ready for school. With a groan, she heaves herself out of bed and stumbles blindly into the shower, the cold water instantly waking her up. It's not that she enjoys waking up this early, but since the unfortunate death of her wife, Stacie, from cancer a year ago, she's forced to take more responsibility in raising all eight of her children.

Yes, that's right. Beca Mitchell, famed music producer, is the single mother of eight children. Once unstructured and free-flowing, she exists purely on caffeine and an incredibly regimented schedule that allows her no wiggle room for free time or nonsense. Like standing in the shower for more than five minutes. Drying herself off quickly before dressing in her signature jeans and flannel, the small brunette music producer makes her way out of her bedroom and into the hallway with her megaphone in hand. This is the most efficient way to wake up all eight children.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!" she calls out loudly through the megaphone, quickly greeted by a chorus of groans from her children. "Time to get ready for school! Up and at 'em! Let's go!"

It takes awhile to get the older kids out of bed; Beca remembers the days when she was a teenager, constantly exhausted and sleeping in as late as humanly possible. Somehow, she finally manages to get all of the kids down the stairs for breakfast, which the house nanny, Aubrey, has prepared for them.

"Thank you for making breakfast," she whispers to the blonde, who offers her a reassuring smile.

Aubrey was Stacie's best friend and closest companion. After Stacie died, she offered her services to help Beca out as needed. When the two women both realized just how much extra help that Beca needed to be able to successfully raise the kids and work her job, Beca decided to hire Aubrey on as her house keeper.

"Not a problem!" Aubrey replies cheerfully with a smile. "You know what they say, Mitchell. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Working together, Beca and Aubrey successfully manage to pack all eight lunches for the kids while the eight of them finish up breakfast.

Hassling all eight of her children out the door is an issue on it's own. The older four kids, Bowie, Presley, Axl and Dylan all pile into Bowie's BMW (a gift for Bowie's eighteenth a couple weeks ago) and head off towards the school. The younger four kids, Marley, Cash, Ozzy and Harrison, are left to pile into Beca's SUV, where she drops them all off at the school, leaving her alone and craving coffee. Aubrey will pick them up again that afternoon and make sure that they all do their homework, and Beca won't see them again until dinnertime after a long day at the studio.

She has thirty minutes before she has to be at the Ellen Show for her interview on her new solo album, which has just been released and is already making the top charts, so Beca figures she might as well stop by Starbucks for some coffee to hold her off for the morning.

* * *

Chloe, on the otherhand, is not so regimented. Between her long hours as a Hollywood actress and making sure that all ten of her children are well and accounted for, it seems like she has almost no time on her hands. After hitting snooze almost five times on her alarm, she finally manages to crawl out of bed around seven.

"Time to wake up kids!" she calls out from in the hallway, cupping her hands to her face.

She makes sure to visit each child individually, shaking all ten of them awake, before heading downstairs to pack lunches for the younger children and to get breakfast set out on the table. It had been five years since her husband, Chicago, had died in Iraq, and she had absolutely no idea how she had been able to function as a single mother. But Chloe loves her job, loves all ten of her kids with her entire heart (even the six that aren't biologically hers). After all, being a mother gives her purpose.

They are running five minutes late by the time Andreas and Holden finally get down the stairs. Herding all ten of her kids out the door and into the car is a task in itself, but she manages to do so in just the nick of time. Aside from the older four kids (as Sadie has a car of her own), the younger six pile into her minivan, where she promptly drops them off at the school, thankful that they aren't too late for first bell.

"Have a good day at school!" she calls out as they all rush to get into the school.

Soren, her youngest son, waves goodbye to her as he gets out of the car, almost making her tear up at the sight. This is why she became a mother in the first place, after all.

It is only when she starts driving down the interstate, that she realizes that she was so caught up in the hubbub of the morning that she forgot to get herself coffee.

"Starbucks it is," she mutters, quickly detouring towards the Starbucks chain that, thankfully, was close to where she was in town.

* * *

Pulling into her usual parking spot towards the front of the Starbucks outlet, Beca gets out of her car, shades over her eyes, baseball cap covering her head (just in case there are any paparazzi lurking about), and opens the door, instantly greeted by the delicious smell of coffee. She stands in line for awhile, it's not too long, but it's also not very short, and again is left to wait awhile for her order to be processed. As she is standing off to the side, waiting patiently for her coffee, she's tapped on the shoulder by someone.

She is quickly greeted by a beautiful redheaded woman, beaming at her thoughtfully.

"Beca?" the voice asks softly. "Is that you?"

Upon hearing the woman speak, Beca finds herself in complete awe once she realizes that she is in the presence of one Chloe Beale, her high school sweetheart.

"Oh my god!" she exclaims. "Chloe?"

This question is quickly affirmed by a bone crushing hug, followed by squeals of excitement from the redhead.

"I haven't seen you in years!" Chloe beams.

Beca can't help but notice how she hasn't aged at all over the past thirty years. She doesn't look like she should be turning forty-six soon. Then again, neither does Beca, who is still so short that she barely looks like she should be starting adulthood.

"How have you been?" Beca finds herself asking. "You haven't aged a single day!"

Chloe smiles at this, her nose crinkling slightly as her lips part, revealing those pearly white teeth.

"Incredibly busy! You would not believe just how busy I've been over the past couple of decades," the redhead exhales with an exaggerated groan. "But of course, you would know what that's like, with you being a famous music producer!"

"Ma'am, your order!" the barista calls out from behind her, before Beca has the chance to answer, and she's suddenly reminded of her lack of time.

"It's really nice to see you, Chlo," she says softly, planting a chaste kiss on the woman's cheek. "Call me sometime so we can set up a time to go out for lunch maybe, catch up?"

She hastily pulls one of her business cards out of her flannel pocket, offering Chloe an embarrassed smile before rushing out the door.

Of course, of all the days that I run into Chloe Beale, I have places to be, she thinks to herself with annoyance as she drives down the interstate and towards the studio.

* * *

"Our next guest is an eight-time Grammy award winning music producer. You might know her from some of her singles that she's produced for artists like Katy Perry and the Weeknd. This week, she's here to talk about her new album Bulletproof Heart, which is already climbing the charts! Please welcome the one and only, Beca Mitchell!"

Beca feels her cheeks flush at the sound of her name. She's never really been good at receiving compliments, always so modest, especially when it comes to her work. She can't help but smile awkwardly as she's greeted by Ellen, blocking out the sound of the cheering crowd.

"So Beca, how's life been?" Ellen asks her as they sit down across from one another, each woman on their respective sofas. "It's been awhile since we've had you on the show. I understand that you're life has been pretty hectic."

Beca chuckles and nods.

"You could say that," the brunette admits with a short laugh. "My wife, Stacie, passed away a year ago from breast cancer, so I've had to fill in the role of Mommy #1 and Mommy #2 for our eight kids."

The audience lets out a chorus of sympathetic awes, to which Beca turns to them and mouths 'thank you'.

"Yet, still, you manage to go to work every day and produce these amazing chart-toppers, and even produce your first solo album in over twenty years!" Ellen exclaims thoughtfully. "How on earth do you do it?"

"Well, lots of coffee, for starters," Beca replied lightly. "And a very, very regimented schedule. When you have to take care of nine people, you really have to plan things out to every last detail."

Ellen laughs at this, as does the live studio audience, causing Beca's cheeks to flush up red from embarrassment.

"So back to your album," Ellen continues. "There's this one song on there that everyone just loves so much that it's currently sitting in the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100. What inspired you to put such a unique arrangement of "When I'm Gone" on your album?"

Beca laughs at this. It's so ironic, that she's asked to talk about the song that was her and Chloe's song back in the day, on live television, just an hour after running into the redhead at Starbucks.

"Well, actually, it was a song that I auditioned with for an acapella group in high school," Beca replies with a laugh. "It actually got me a girlfriend back in the day, though that was the seventies, when things that were taboo in the south weren't really accepted, no matter how many hippies there were. You see, I auditioned for this acapella group because there was this really beautiful girl that I wanted to impress."

Ellen laughs, and so does the audience.

"Please welcome to the stage, Academy Award winning actress, Chloe Beale," Ellen chokes out through laughter.

Beca finds her eyes widening as the redheaded woman struts out onto stage, greeted by a wild applause from the audience. She waves at them and flashes her signature smile before sitting down beside Beca on the sofa.

"Hey, didn't I just see you?" Chloe asks teasingly with a chuckle.

"I feel betrayed," Beca replies jokingly with a pout, shooting a fake-annoyed glare towards Ellen, who is still laughing at Beca's initial reaction to Chloe being called out on stage.

"So you two do know each other?" Ellen asks the two women, after having finally stopped laughing.

"Chloe is actually the girl that I was talking about impressing in that acapella group," Beca admits begrudgingly. "Though I had almost no idea that she was a famous actress!"

Chloe's jaw nearly hits the floor at this admission made by the music producer.

"Don't you ever watch television?" the redhead insists.

Beca shakes her head in amusement.

"I have eight kids and a job that eats up all my time. Any spare second of time I have is spent trying to squeeze in a nap, or time to listen to some demos," she admits. "Not that I'd make time for movies anyways."

Chloe rolls her eyes before turning towards the audience.

"I bet that's something you didn't know about the Beca Mitchell; she hates movies with a passion!"

Beca glares at her, smacking her playfully on the arm.

"I don't hate them! They're just boring and predictable and a waste of my precious time!"

Chloe simply snickers at this, not seeming at all apologetic.

"By the way, she is so full of it when she tells you all that "When I'm Gone" was just her audition song!"

Beca feels as though her eyeballs are going to pop out of their sockets.

"Don't you even think about it, Beale," she mutters, her navy blue eyes boaring into Chloe's dazzling baby blues, daring her to open her mouth.

However, this warning clearly does nothing.

"Back in the day when they used to make us shower after gym class, Beca and I were the only two in the showers and I overheard her singing," Chloe begins, grinning wildly as she tells the story to the audience, who eats up every word that escaping her lips. "So I was in this acapella group, and we were trying to recruit new members, and I heard this beautiful voice in the showers, and so I just had to see who it belonged to. And low and behold, it belonged to Beca Mitchell. And the rest is history."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Beca butts in. "If you're going to tell the story, at least tell the entire thing!"

She turns towards the audience, forgetting any embarrassment she had felt earlier, filled with the urge to make sure they heard things from her perspective.

"I thought I was alone in the shower, and this one over here just barged in and demanded that I sing for her!" she shrieks.

"Oh please, like you weren't enjoying it, Mitchell," Chloe replies teasingly, winking at the brunette woman. "Don't think I didn't catch you checking me out."

The audience is almost in tears from laughing so hard at the two women's playful bantering, including Ellen, who has tears streaming down her face.

"I'm afraid that's all the time that we have for today," Ellen says through laughter. "When we come back, Beca is going to sing for us!"

* * *

After the show has concluded and Beca has received a roaring applause from the audience, she is greeted backstage by one Chloe Beale, smiling at her wickedly.

"Mind if I take you up on that lunch date right now?" the redhead asks hopefully.

She has so much to do at the recording studio that it's insane, however, as Beca finds herself staring into those dazzling baby blue eyes, she can't help but accept. The two women spend the entire afternoon catching up at a cute Italian place at Chloe says is the best place in town.

"So eight kids, huh," Chloe asks after swallowing a mouthful of her salad. "I can't believe that your wife talked you into that."

Beca shrugs at this.

"It's really not that bad, I love my kids," she admits. "Not to sound like a sap, but they're my whole world."

Chloe's heart practically melts at this admission, and she can't help but smile.

"I get the feeling, that's how I feel about my own," Chloe says gently.

"How many do you have?" Beca asks.

"Ten," comes Chloe's nonchalant reply, causing Beca's eyeballs to nearly pop out of her head.

"Jesus Chlo, ten?" the small brunette exclaims in awe. "I can't believe you've popped out ten kids and you  _still_ look as bangin' as you did back in high school!"

Chloe laughs at this, shaking her head.

"I only carried four of them. Zevi, Lachlan, Joaquin, Sofia, Dagny, and Soren were all adopted," she replies with a chuckle.

"That's still  _a lot_ of kids, Chlo, especially to raise on your own," Beca presses.

"Well, I wasn't alone for  _all_ of it," Chloe insists with a sigh. "My husband, Chicago, and I made the decision to adopt, and after we adopted Zevi, we realized just how much we loved sharing our home, so we adopted the others."

"Husband?" Beca asks, quirking her eyebrow curiously. "Where'd he end up?"

It was almost like a light went out at the mention.

"Chicago died over in Iraq five years ago, when Soren was a baby," the redhead says softly, eyes some how dulling at the mention of her late husband.

Beca frowns at this, feeling terrible at her insensitivity.

"I'm so sorry, Chlo. That must've been so hard on you guys," she admits sadly, reaching out across the table to place her hand on Chloe's. "I know the feeling. Stacie's only been gone a year, and it's still so hard to raise the kids without her. I dunno how people do it."

"I dunno either."

* * *

The next few days, Beca is unable to get Chloe off her mind. She is completely entranced by the redhead who has monopolized on all of her thoughts and spare time. They text every single day, spend their lunch breaks together, and meet up for coffee every morning, trading stories about their kids.

By the fourth day that they'd been reunited, Beca finally works up the nerve to ask Chloe out on a date. Much to her surprise, the redhead ends up accepting. Later that night, the two women meet up at a fancy five-star restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, both dressed to the nines. Beca hasn't dressed this nicely since Stacie's funeral, she realizes as she looks herself over in the mirror one last time before leaving the house.

When she first sees Chloe, however, she is floored by just how stunning the redhead is.

"You look amazing," she murmurs in the other woman's ear as she pulls her in for a hug, planting a gentle kiss on her paramour's cheek.

"I could say the same about you, Becs," Chloe replies endearingly.

They spend the night talking and laughing and eating, and after they've finished dinner, the two women head out for a walk together under the stars. They run into a guitar player sitting on the pier. Beca tosses a couple of twenties into his guitar case before pulling Chloe into her arms and twirling her around. Before they know it, both of them are giggling and dancing in the middle of the street.

"I forgot just how happy you make me," Chloe remarks softly as they're sitting on a bench overlooking the city together.

"Let's get married," Beca blurts out without a second thought. "Right now."

Chloe's eyes widen in shock for a moment, but then she relaxes as she gives the thought consideration.

"Right now?" she repeats. "That's crazy!"

"Almost as crazy as having ten kids," Beca remarks with amusement.

Chloe rolls her eyes at this.

"Beca, it's almost midnight! I highly doubt there's anywhere open right now that does last minute weddings!" she exclaims.

The music producer sighs.

"I suppose you're right, but I'm sure that there's  _somewhere_ in the city that's open," she insists. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't. We obviously have chemistry. Just ask the millions of viewers who watched us live on the Ellen Show a couple days ago. I've lived a good forty-six years, and I've realized, losing Stacie, that life is too short to take things for granted. You make me happy, and not to sound cocky, but I know that I make  _you_ pretty happy too."

Chloe can't help but nod at this.

"Let's do it."

"Really?" Beca asks in amazement, almost as though she didn't expect for Chloe to take the bait.

"Let's get married."


	2. chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the long wait; life has been absolutely crazy! i really hope you enjoy this chapter; the final one will be up shortly :)

"You  _what?_ " Sadie shrieks from inside of the Beale's living room from where she sat on the sofa, arms folded angrily over her chest, lip curling upward in a menacing scowl. She definitely has inherited her father's angry face, though it looks even scarier with those dazzling baby blues.

Chloe frowns at this, staring down at the thin, titanium wedding band resting on her ring finger. It had been almost three days since she and Beca had eloped in a twenty-four hour chapel, and she'd been so slammed with work, that she hadn't really had the down time to tell the kids. She had hoped that the kids would take the news of her surprise marriage better than this, but then again, the more that she thought about it, the more that she realized that maybe they had a right to be shocked.

"No offense, Mom, but we didn't even  _meet_ Beca before you announced that you were going to start seeing each other," Andreas pitches in with annoyance.

The younger kids mumble in agreement with their older siblings.

"Well, you'll get to meet her tonight," Chloe insists, pacing around the room in front of the kids. "Because we're going to be meeting Beca and your new step-siblings at the new house on the beach. Speaking of which, let's get crackin' on the packin'!"

She'd hoped that the incentive of living in a mansion on the beach would be motivation enough for the kids to accept this, however, they didn't seem all too excited.

"Are you kidding me?" six-year-old Soren says, pulling himself up from his spot in the couch where he is smooshed between Zevi and Lachlan. "We have a new mommy, but we have new sisters and brothers too?"

Chloe sighs. This is hopeless.

"Well how many are we talking here?" Holden, her oldest son, asks thoughtfully. He hasn't really said much since she called for them all to gather in the living room for the announcement. He's a lot like his father, Chloe realizes with each passing day, the same quiet and thoughtful demeanor, not really one for words.

"Eight. Two girls and six boys."

"Eight!" the kids all shout in unison, causing Chloe to wince from the sudden outburst.

"Enough of this nonsense! I expect you all to start packing up your belongings. There are some boxes sitting out on the back porch, and when you're done, you can come down and help me pack up the kitchen and the living room," Chloe demands. She knows that if she allows the conversation to continue, that they will not get everything that they need to accomplish in the day. "The moving truck is going to be here around four this afternoon, so I expect you  _all_ to help and make sure that the majority of our things are packed."

Though they groan with annoyance, none of her ten children bother to disobey orders. Chloe is a very sweet woman without a doubt, however, they know better than to anger her by going against her demands. Ten pairs of feet head upstairs to start packing their bags, leaving Chloe in the chaos of the downstairs living room, staring around her in complete awe, wondering how the hell she's going to get all of this crap packed away by four.

* * *

"I can't believe that you got married without telling us!" Bowie grumbles in annoyance from the living room.

He opens his mouth up to say more, however, one glare from Beca quickly silences him. Despite this, he still looks just as angry as his other siblings. She'd hoped that they would take the news of her marriage to Chloe much better, however, it appears that they are less than pleased by this information.

"I promise you, she's very nice," Beca insists. "You'll fall in love with her the second that you meet her. She's coming to live here with us, she and her kids, so you'll have to make room for your new sisters and brothers."

"Sisters and brothers!" Cash and Ozzy cry out in unison. They're twin brothers, so they do and say most everything together.

"Yes, Chloe has ten children," Beca adds conclusively. "And I want you all to be nice to them."

"TEN!" all eight of her children exclaim in complete awe.

"What kind of wackadoo has  _ten_ children as a single mom?" Dylan, her oldest daughter, asks with disgust. "That's insane, Mom. You literally married an insane person."

The others nod in agreement with their oldest sister.

"Not to agree with Dylan or anything, because believe me, that's the  _last_ thing I'd  _ever_ want to do, but she's right, Mom!" Axl insists. "You're literally making the biggest mistake of your life and you're dragging us down with you!"

Chattering erupts from between the eight siblings and between eight voices, what is only brief conversation quickly turns into what could compete with the noise level at an amusement park.

"Silence!" Beca barks out, immediately hearing her voice echo off of the walls as all eight of her children fall completely silent. "What's done is done, and we're going to embrace our new life with open arms. Now, I want you all to go up and start cleaning your rooms. The moving truck will be here around five and you guys are going to help your new siblings move in."

Though they let out groans of annoyance at this news, the eight children know better than to argue with Beca; once she has made up her mind, there's no changing it. With heavy hearts, they all stand up from their spots on the couch, and head up the stairs towards their bedrooms to start preparing for the arrival of their new siblings.

Once everyone has made it up the stairs, Beca finds herself sinking into the couch, wondering what the hell she got herself into. Eighteen kids? They were absolutely insane. But the more that she thought about it, the more determined that she was to make this work.

* * *

It's close to six when the moving truck finally pulls up in the driveway, and not far behind, a sports car and a van. Beca feels her heart flutter at the sight. She can't believe that this is actually happening.

"Kids!" she shouts up the stair well. "They're here!"

There is nothing but a resounding silence from the second floor, causing Beca to frown.

"Guys, I'm serious. Get your asses down here to come and meet your new stepmother and siblings!" she snaps angrily.

This gets their attention, and not even a minute later, all eight kids are running down the stairs, not wanting to get yelled at by their mother for not obeying orders. All eight of them stand obediently behind their mother on the staircase, all eight pairs of eyes staring readily at the door, waiting for the moment that was about to completely turn their worlds upside down.

The sound of a dog barking out in the front lawn is heard by all in the house, quickly followed by another bark from a different dog. Beca frowns at the notion. Chloe had never said anything about pets. Then again, Beca supposed, perhaps it wouldn't be terrible to introduce pets to her children. Stacie had been allergic to animals with fur, so they'd never been able to get a dog or a cat, even a ferret or rabbit.

And then the door swings open, and they're greeted by a flurry of children running into the house after two large black labs. One of the younger boys has a crate with a little calico kitten tucked away inside of it, the younger girl standing beside him carrying a similar crate with a larger, fluffier cat. One of the older kids has a tiny pig cradled in his arms, swaddled in some blankets.

"Absolutely not!" Dylan squeals from behind her.

"Dylan," Beca says, whipping around and shooting her oldest daughter a glare. "Please, be polite."

"Hey there, beautiful!" the familiar voice of one Chloe Beale chirps out as she saunters into the front entry way, heading directly for her wife, planting a kiss on the smaller woman's cheek.

"Kids," Beca says, clearing her throat, clearly uncomfortable by the display of affection shown towards her new wife having happened in front of her children. "This is your new stepmother, Chloe. Chloe, my kids."

Chloe smiles and waves at them politely. Beca watches as the kids study her curiously. She looks far different than she ever does on television; her face is bare and makeup-less, her unruly red curls flying every which direction, dressed in a paint-stained t-shirt and a faded pair of blue jeans. If you saw her on the street, you would never assume that this woman was an Academy award winning actress. Appearances were rather deceiving, after all.

"Hi, Chloe," comes the uncomfortable chorus from her children.

Beca finds herself thankful that they at least are able to find it in themselves to be polite.

"Kids!" Chloe calls out before wolf-whistling for her children to enter the room.

Beca's eyes widen in awe as a heard of two younger children, probably around Harrison and Cash's age, run into her front door, covered in mud. If there is one thing that Beca has always hated, it's messes. Thankfully for her, all eight of her children have grown up with the same hatred for getting dirty. It is apparent, however, that Chloe's kids are not the same.

"If you could just take off your shoes please," Beca says softly, afraid to tread on Chloe's leash. She doesn't want to upset her new wife, especially on such an important day as today.

"Soren! Dagny!" Chloe scolds. "It's impolite to get all messy like that! Go and wash yourselves up and come back down here in the living room!"

The younger two children don't even nod, they just start running through Beca's beautiful, very clean house, probably tracking dirt and all other kinds of mess across the house.

"The bathroom is on the left!" she shouts, though she is sure that the kids don't care enough to be listening to the words being shouted at them, so instead, she turns her attention back to the task at hand. "Very well then. Welcome, everyone. If you could all make your way to the living room and be seated, we've got a lot to go over before we start moving in."

The kids start to head over towards the living room, none of them saying a word.

"Becs," Chloe frets worriedly from behind her. "Make it quick please, the moving truck gets paid by the hour and the bill is already going to be insane."

Beca nods to this suggestion, though in all honesty, it has completely gone over her head. She figures that if she runs over, she'll just offer to pay the bill for Chloe instead. After all, when you're the winner of  _multiple_ Grammy awards, you make quite a bit of money.

"Alright!" Beca says loudly, getting everyone's attention directed towards her, standing in front of all eighteen children. "Here on this whiteboard, I've devised a schedule! There are twenty of us in this household now, not included Ms. Posen, the housekeeper, who lives in the poolhouse out back. If we have any hope of this working out, we all have to follow the schedule!"

She notices the eyerolls from two of Chloe's older kids, and hears snickers coming from some of the younger ones, however, not wanting to upset her wife, she keeps her mouth shut.

"It also means that you'll be sharing rooms," she continues. "So when I call your name, you can go over to Chloe and start helping to move things in to the bedrooms."

Bowie lets out a groan of annoyance at this.

"Couldn't you have just hired some movers to do it for us?" he whines.

Beca can't help but frown at this. Since when had she raised such spoiled and lazy children? It didn't seem right.

"Teamwork makes the dream work, Bowie," she remarks proudly, crossing her arms over her chest matter-of-factly. "And besides, it will give you a chance to bond with your new siblings."

Though he doesn't seem particularly pleased, Bowie doesn't say anything more, he just glares at her with those piercing blue eyes.

"So Bowie and Holden- you two will be sharing Bowie's room together," she said crisply, staring up to see which one was Holden.

The blonde haired boy that stood up was neatly groomed, blonde hair slicked back in a blazer and khakis.

"Oh  _hell_ no," Bowie mutters. "I didn't realize that I was bunking with the cast of Glee."

Beca shoots him an indignant glare, shutting him up, thankfully, and the two boys begrudgingly stand up and head off towards the front door to gather up Holden's things from the moving truck.

"Axl, Presley, and Andreas."

She watches as her two sons suspiciously eyeball the Beale boy, and head outside as well.

"Zevi, Marley, and Daisy."

The reaction is not as obvious with the girls. Thankfully, Marley, who has always been a rather bratty child (which was all kinds of ironic considering she was named after the king of chill, Bob Marley), didn't fuss about her new roommates.

"Sadie and Dylan."

Dylan shoots a glare at Sadie. Clean cut, blonde-haired Sadie, who shows no resemblance of her mother other than those piercing blue eyes, opposed to Dylan with her heavy eyeliner and dark clothes. As the two girls stand up and eyeball one another, Beca can see where this can lead to potential tensions, however, there's too much to be done for her to have the time to worry about it.

"Cash, Ozzy, Lachlan and Joaquin, you guys get to share a room. You even get bunk beds," Beca presses, trying to make it seem more appealing than it actually is to the younger boys. "And same with you, Sofia, Dagny, Harrison, and Soren."

The eight younger ones don't seem to be particularly bothered by this new arrangement. For a moment, Beca feels as though perhaps there is hope. However, when Soren accidentally bumps into Harrison, she winces, watching as Harrison pushes the other boy out the door.

"Oh boy, what we were thinking," she mutters to Chloe, only to realize that the redhead is already outside helping to unload.

* * *

A week has gone by since the Beales and Mitchells have moved in together, and things seem to be going pretty smoothly. At least, Chloe thinks so. Sure, she and Beca have had their arguments, but what couple doesn't?

Today is a Saturday and, thankfully, she has a day off from filming, so she's home alone in the house with the kids while Beca is at work. She's been counting down the minutes that Beca will get home. The sound of children squealing upstairs alerts her, however, she figures that it's probably just the littler ones playing. They don't seem to hate each other as much as the older kids do.

She falls asleep on the couch for a couple hours, and is awakened by Beca's hands shaking her.

"Chlo, what the hell happened down here?" the brunette exclaims, tone borderline furious.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Chloe sits up and glances around the living room area. There are tufts of fur scattered across the hardwood floor and children's toys, too, but all in all, it doesn't look too terrible.

"I don't see anything wrong," she replies nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Chloe! It's a mess!" Beca shrieks, and Chloe realizes that she's really  _not_ a huge fan of messes.

"Bec, we have eighteen kids. You can't expect the house to look like it came out of one of those HGTV magazines," she counters, standing up and crossing her arms around her chest.

"Whatever," the brunette grumbles in annoyance, stomping towards the bedroom. "But we need to talk to the kids about this."

Later that evening, after they've had dinner, all twenty of the Beale-Mitchells have gathered around the living room, buckets of paint surrounding them, the floor covered in tarps just for safety precautions (because paint absolutely does NOT come out of hardwood flooring).

"What the hell are we even doing?" Sadie grovels, hands on her hips. "I have better things to do than repaint the house, Mom."

"Do not speak to your mother in that tone, it's disrespectful," Beca is quick to snap to Chloe's defense.

Chloe turns to her wife, giving her a look that warns her to back off, before turning back to Sadie with a very forced smile.

"Well, sweetie, Beca and I thought that we could all work together to repaint the downstairs, make it more  _our_ house now that we're all living here."

"That's lame," Ozzy groans, receiving murmurs in agreement from the other younger kids.

"Too bad. You're all participating," Beca says sharply.

The painting starts out just fine. Everyone, even the older kids who don't want to be there, is helping to paint the walls. Chloe is satisfied with the beautiful navy blue color that she and Beca have picked out. It reminds her of Beca's eyes; that's why she likes it so much. Well, not that she'd ever  _admit_ that to Beca. They stand there for a few minutes, watching the children, before heading into the kitchen to go and gather up some snacks for everyone.

"I think they're starting to get along," Beca admits softly as she pulls out a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge.

Chloe nods in agreement.

"The younger ones seem to be getting along better, but that's normal. You know how teenagers are."

Beca scoffs.

"You could say that again."

And then, the sound of shouts and things being knocked over in the living room quickly pulls their attention away from the gathering of snacks, and back into the living room.

It's an ugly sight; even free-flowing Chloe will agree to this. The younger kids have paint smeared all over their faces, and the dogs have stepped in paint that's been spilled on the floor, leaving navy paw prints along the hardwood floor. Sadie looks like she's had an entire bucket of paint dumped on top of her, and the older boys are wildly splattering paint at each other.

"HEY!" Beca screams at the top of her lungs, causing the room to fall completely silent. "What the  _hell_ is going on here?"

No one dares to speak, they just stand their in silence, paint dripping from their hands and paintbrushes and in Sadie's case, faces.

"Not only have you wasted a lot of paint," Beca begins, angrily pacing around the room, being sure to make eye contact with all of the children as she walks past them. "But you've also made a huge mess of our living room! This paint is going to be very hard to get out of the flooring. I'm very disappointed in you all, especially you, Bowie and Dylan."

The two older Mitchell kids wince at the mention of their names.

"You two should know better than to stir up trouble like that," she continues.

"That's not fair, Bec," Chloe states matter-of-factly. "They were just having fun. Isn't that the point of this whole letting them paint the downstairs thing?"

She regrets saying is as soon as Beca whips around, steely grey eyes meeting with hers.

"I don't want my  _living room_ looking like a god damn circus blew up all over the walls!"

She can feel Beca's anger radiating off of every surface in the house.

"Kids, go upstairs and clean yourselves up please," Chloe finds herself let out in a meek voice quite unlike her own.

She had forgotten how angry and worked up Beca used to get over things sometimes.

The kids, especially her own, seemed to know better than to go against orders, and one by one, all eighteen children make their way up the stairs, leaving Chloe and one very angry Beca standing there.

* * *

"I don't know why the hell they thought it was a good idea to do that!"

All eighteen kids are sitting together in the upstairs game room, listening to the booming of Beca's angry voice throughout the house.

"They were just having fun and trying to express their creativity, and things got out of hand," they hear Chloe counter insistently.

"Yeah, well excuse me for expecting _my_ house to look nice and orderly!"

The younger ones wince at the sound of their parents arguing, but everyone's attention is quickly called to Bowie, who is standing up at the front of the room.

"Let this meeting officially be called to order," he says, his voice calm.

Once he has gathered everyone's attention, Bowie decides that it's appropriate to begin.

"You've all been gathered here because we need to devise a plan," Bowie continues, pacing around the front of the room. "Your mom and my mom, don't belong together. We don't  _want_ them together. And  _we_ don't like each other. So we need to come up with a way to get them to break up."

"And how do you propose that we're going to do that, oh wise one?" Sadie says, cocking her eyebrow.

"I'm open for suggestions."

"Well we have to make them hate each other," Dylan replies with a smirk. "You hear them arguing right now, right? Clearly they're having a difference of opinions, something that people who  _aren't_ supposed to be together, do. We just need to keep reminding them of these differences of opinions."

"How on  _Earth_ do you suggest we do that, Dyl?" Bowie counters. "I mean, yeah, Mom is easy to piss of but she's also very easily blinded by her feelings towards others, especially Chloe. You remember how Mom was towards Mama. She was so easily enveloped in her little love bubble that she didn't care what Mama did."

"I have to agree with Bowie; he brings up a good point," Sadie admits with a frown.

"Well, that's why we have to keep it consistent," Dylan insists. "We have to make sure that they're so aware of each other's faults and differences, that they don't have time to appreciate the things they have in common."

"Like?"

"They're having a fight about cleanliness right now. Clearly, your mom doesn't have much of a regard for messes, but our mom, she absolutely  _hates_ them," Axl laughs.

"That is true. Mom does hate messes," Harrison says in agreement with his older brother.

Sadie sighs.

"I suppose you're right about that, but I doubt a couple of messes are going to end up with them getting a divorce," she scoffs.

"Well, we have to lead up to it, Sadie," Dylan insists. "It's gotta start small, just like tonight with the mess. And then we can continue with the small fights. And then we have to hit them with something big that'll absolutely make my mom blow a gasket."

The younger children grin at this. It's not often that one gets to see Beca Mitchell this angry. Yes, she can be rather easily irritated, but to see her absolutely infuriated? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"How would your Mom feel about a party?" Holden asks quietly.

* * *

 

They are going to throw a party, they decide. Beca and Chloe have the Grammy's in a month anyway, so the house will be free for the evening. It takes them a little while to convince Sadie that it's a smart plan, but she eventually decides to go for it.

The next week and a half is spent devising plans for the party in the big family game room; they decide that they're going to go all out. After all, if they want to get Beca Mitchell incredibly angry, they're going to have to do a pretty stellar job. Besides, they're probably going to be grounded for the rest of their lives, Bowie and Dylan decide, so they might as well have fun while they're still free.

"The kids seem to be getting along quite well," Chloe says, nursing her glass of wine on the sofa as she lays there, curled up on Beca's shoulder. 

They're supposed to be watching a movie, but of course, Beca's not really one for movies.

"Kind of surprising actually," the brunette admits readily. "But like I told you, they just needed some adjustment time to get used to each other. That's all there is to it, really."

And of course, Beca and Chloe are both so wrapped up in their marriage that seems to be going so well, that they have absolutely no idea what their children are planning. 

Yet, the children find that they're far more involved in each other's lives as the week ends and drags on into week three. They help advertise for Bowie's grunge rock band, who is performing a big gig in one of the downtown clubs. They all show up Wednesday night to support him; even Sadie, who is vehemently opposed to rock music. In return, everyone, even the Littles, help to hang flyers and posters up around the school announcing Sadie's candidacy for student council president.

It is no surprise to them, that by the close of the week, Sadie is dubbed "Madame President" for receiving the most votes by a landslide.

By week four, they've found that they're starting to grow quite attached to each other. Especially when all eighteen of them end up going to watch Andreas's soccer game. He's the center mid-fielder for the middle school's team, so  _of course_ they have to go and cheer him on.

"Go Andreas!" Sadie shouts for her little brother from the stands, Harrison and Soren sitting at her feet having an interesting conversation while playing with their action figures. 

Presley and Marley have made big signs with Andreas's face on them, and posters that say "Go Andreas!" and "#22 for the win!" Almost all of them are holding at least one. 

They ignore the dirty glances that go their way (from both the opposing teammates  _and_ the family members of Andreas's teammates), and cheer the loudest whenever Andreas makes a pass or a play, or even a goal. Cash even makes up a chant that they all sing along to, surprisingly on-key, whenever Andreas does something cool on the field.

By the time the game is over, they run out to greet their brother on the field, smiling at him and cheering out his name. 

"You guys came?" he asks in bewilderment.

"Well, yeah!" Sadie says, almost as though she's offended he'd believe otherwise. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Yeah," Joaquin and Dagny are quick to chime in.

"You're our brother, of course we'd come and watch you," Dylan admits.

"We love you Andreas," Holden adds. "So of course we came."

"Yeah, we love you," everyone else chimes in.

And as they all walk towards the parking lot, where Sadie and Bowie have parked their respective cars, they find that yes, indeed, they do really love each other. Maybe a little too much now.


	3. part three

February tenth arrives like clockwork. The kids have spent the last couple of days secretly planning their big party. It doesn't take much to convince their parents that they'll be just fine on their own. After all, they've been getting along so well the past month that  _Beca_ doesn't even take convincing. Aubrey is given the night off, leaving all eighteen of them alone in the house.

"We'll be back later tonight," Chloe says with her dazzling actress-Chloe-Beale smile, eyes sparkling along with her heavily rhinestoned designer dress. Beca flanks her, dressed accordingly so in a rather risque black pantsuit that reveals far too much cleavage for their children's liking. They  _do_ look pretty cute together, Sadie thinks to herself in a moment of weakness, however, the minute they watch their mother's climb into the back seat of a sleek, black car with tinted windows, those thoughts dissolve.

"Alright gang, it's game time!"

Their plan is easy and won't take too much effort. In fact, the way it's set up, everyone involved gets to have a little fun, something that will be important, especially when all eighteen of them have been grounded for the rest of eternity for the ruckus they're about to cause. The Littles have complete control of the upstairs. It doesn't take much to get them to follow through on their end; they just have to make the biggest mess possible, and thankfully, there is a wide array of different paints and foods and other mess-making things all over the house. On the otherhand, the older kids are tending to the party downstairs. Bowie's band is going to be cranking the volume all night, while at least a hundred kids from their school show up at the promise of alcohol and free food.

It's going to be the best night of their lives, they decide.

And of everyone else's.

Well, aside from their parents, who will, hopefully, not be together much longer after the night is through. And their neighbors, who are going to suffer from the deafeningly loud music of punk rock music being played as loudly as possible.

But for the Mitchell-Beale's, it's about to be the best night.

It better be, at least.

* * *

The cameras love Beca and Chloe. And what's not to love? A sarcastic and witty music producer with dozens of Grammy's under her belt and America's sweetheart with her baby blues and award-winning smile, with that reunited-after-two-decades love story that has everyone in America wrapped around their fingers. They're so Hollywood, that it's hard  _not_ to love them.

Since their reunion with one another, they've been the talk of the tabloids.

The night goes as perfectly as planned. They pose for some pictures on the red carpet. They sit in the audience through what feels like a thousand different performances, sipping on champagne and chatting with Beca's clients. Beca, to no one's surprise, wins all three of the awards she was nominated for; Music Producer of the Year being the biggest, as this is her  _fifth_  year in a row winning!

Each and every time Beca goes up onto that stage to accept her awards, Chloe swears that her heart swoons more and more, and she falls even more in love with her wife. The Grammy's wrap up in a whirlwind of people in designer clothing (and their assistants). It doesn't take long before she and Beca find themselves back into their chauffeured town car to an upscale restaurant thirty minutes away. They are having dinner with Beca's boss, Jack Stone; a rare occasion, seeing as Beca's boss lives all the way in London, and only ever crosses the ocean when it's incredibly important for him to do so.

"It's lovely to meet you, Chloe Beale," he says, offering her a polite smile, pulling her in for a quick hug and a friendly peck on the cheek before they are seated for dinner.

Thankfully, the paparazzi have  _not_ followed them into the restaurant, and they're in a reserved spot in the back, away from pedestrians who will beg for autographs and Instagram-worthy selfies (not that Chloe would  _ever_ turn down a fan; she  _loves_ her fans!).

The evening is spent mulling over boring work talk between Beca and Mr. Stone, with Chloe occasionally butting in to make a remark. Chloe has to admit, there is nothing quite as sexy as watching Beca's eyes light up as she discusses her work, even though Chloe's knowledge about the music business is rather limited; she has always been strictly Hollywood.

The waiter comes with a bottle of white wine that probably costs more than the thousands of dollars, diamond necklace that Chloe is wearing, and Chloe knows what is about to happen before the words even leave Mr. Stone's mouth.

"Beca, I would like to take this opportunity to speak with you about something I find quite important," he begins with his quaint English accent, wiping his mouth with his napkin, waving the waiter away after he has poured a reasonable amount of wine into each of their glasses.

"Of course, Mr. Stone," Beca replies politely.

She puts on a big front about being a rebellious badass, Chloe notices, but she is always polite.

"You're one of my most brilliant music producers. By God, if tonight is any indication, you're absolutely the most sought after music producer. You're the first person in  _decades_ to win Producer of the Year that many times in a row," Mr. Stone continues. "Which is why I've flown over from London HQ. As much as I love a good party, that's not why I'm here. I've come to offer you a promotion."

Beca, who is taking a sip of her wine, nearly spits it across the table at the mention of a promotion. However, she quickly calms herself, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, and remains silent as she waits for her boss to continue.

"I'm getting quite up their in age, and there is no one that I'd rather have as my successor. Of course, I'm not retiring right away; I don't think I'll ever truly be done with the music business. But I'd love for you to move to London and take over for me."

The moment that Chloe's eyes lock with Beca's, she  _knows_  that Beca wants this.  _Of course_  Beca wants this; who wouldn't? And with Beca's track record, she absolutely deserves it. But London? Chloe can't help but wonder what will happen with their family if Beca accepts this well-deserved offer. They have eighteen children between the two of them, eighteen children who are just finally, after a couple of months, starting to adjust and grow to love and get along with each other. Chloe can't help but wonder if the move will pour salt in a nearly closed wound.

But she doesn't dare say a word of that aloud. Not to Beca, and certainly not in front of Mr. Stone. It's Beca decision, Chloe decides, and she will decide what comes next for her, for  _them,_ according to whatever Beca chooses to do.

"Mr. Stone, I would love to but," Beca pauses briefly, eyes flickering back over to Chloe. "My life is here in California. We've just settled down here and worked the kinks out of our crazy new family. It would be insane to move all twenty of us, not include the pets, over to London!"

Mr. Stone's expression remains such; stone-like.

"My offer is still on the table, Ms. Mitchell. Take some time to think it over and discuss with your wife," he says, as he stands up from his chair at the table. "But it won't be forever. I took a vacation to Fiji last week, and I'm afraid it's made retirement appear far more attractive to me. You have my number. Call me when you've made a final decision. Now if you'll excuse me, my flight leaves in forty minutes. Please, enjoy dessert and the rest of the wine on me."

He turns to Chloe.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Beale, I'm charmed."

And before either of them can so much as utter a word, he's walked away, out the back entrance to where his town car awaits to take him to the airport.

* * *

Back at the house, things are going exactly as planned. The Littles are running rampant through the upstairs, paint splattered throughout the walls, feathers floating around the room, remnants of a pillow fight. There is food everywhere, and chocolate milk has stained one of Beca's favorite rugs. And of course, the Littles are camped out in Beca and Chloe's shared room, tearing through drawers, trying on clothes and shoes and using makeup that they should definitely not be touching.

It's too perfect.

Downstairs, on the otherhand, is flooded with buzzed teenagers, enjoying the three kegs that Bowie's bassist managed to hook them up with for the night. Music is blasting, making the floor vibrate the amps are cranked so loud, as everyone dances along to the familiar rock riffs of a Nirvana song.

Even Sadie appears to be having a good time, Dylan notes with amusement.

"You look like you're having a good time," she shouts over the music with a smirk.

She watches Sadie's cheeks flush up with embarrassment at her remark.

"Might as well enjoy it," Sadie admits. "It's my first and probably, last, ever party, seeing as Mom will  _kill_ me."

Dylan's eyes widen in surprise. As much of a straight-laced person as Sadie, she is rather popular at school. She looks a lot like her mother with her bright blue eyes and smile, and the bubbly attitude about her; of  _course_ she is popular. Which is why Dylan is surprised. Popular girls like Sadie get invited to parties  _all the time_.

"If this is your first party, then we definitely have to go all out!" Dylan exclaims over the music.

She takes her step-sister's hand, dragging her over to the keg, where foolish teenage boys in their frat-boy-esque attire stand chanting wildly at the muscled boy currently chugging from the keg.

"Sadie's turn!" Dylan says, shoving the guy off and onto the ground, causing the boys to cackle in amusement. "And I expect you  _all_ to cheer her on because this is her first ever party!"

The boys, of course, do as Dylan says; she is, after all, the host who supplied them with this wild party. Sadie starts chugging at the keg like a champ, barely flinching as she's lifted off her feet and turned upside-down. They're having such a good time, that they don't notice the sheer look of horror on their mothers' faces upon entering the house.

Their attention isn't drawn to it until the loud feedback of an amp being unplugged and a mic being tampered with floods the living room.

"Sadie Marie Beale, get down off that keg stand right now!" Chloe Beale shrieks at the top of her lungs, her anger amplified by the aid of the microphone.

This is followed by a stern, "Party's over kids. You have ten minutes to get out of my house before I call your parents  _and_ the police," coming from Beca, who has taken her wife's side.

And just like that, everything come's clashing down, just like they had planned. Only, Dylan finds, that sinking feeling in her chest, makes her wish that they'd never thrown the party in the first place. She watches with beady eyes as everyone scrambles madly to get out of the house, leaving them with a trashed downstairs and two angry mothers.

* * *

"Do you have  _any_ idea how irresponsible that was?"

Beca has been going off at them for the past twenty minutes, pacing angrily back and forth through a still-trashed living room. Dylan doesn't think she's  _ever_ seen her mother this angry, not even that one time that Bowie skipped school for two days to camp outside of a store to get a guitar that Johnny Rotten once owned.

"We trusted you to stay home alone and make good decisions, and you betrayed our trust," she continues. "Throwing a party like that? With your little brothers and sisters upstairs? Do you know how unsafe that is?  _Especially_ with alcohol involved! Speaking of which, I want to know exactly how you managed to get three kegs into my house! I am so disappointed in y-"

"Bec, I think that you've yelled at them enough for the night."

This is the first thing that Chloe has said since she screamed at Sadie through the microphone, and she says so quietly. However, this doesn't stop Beca from hearing what she has said.

"Chlo, they threw a  _party!_  They trashed our house! They could've endangered themselves!"

"Teenagers throw parties, Bec. We used to go to them all the time," Chloe counters. "And it's not like the Littles weren't at fault either. They made quite a big mess of the upstairs."

"Yes, Chloe, but we never  _threw_ parties and directly disobeyed orders not to."

The challenging look in Chloe's eyes is warning enough. The kids are fast to head upstairs, knowing that it's better to leave while they still can. They have finally accomplished their goal, after all.

But as five minutes turns into fifteen, and fifteen rolls around into almost fifty, they can't help but feel terribly guilty. This is what they wanted though. And they got what they wanted. None of them realized that it came with a price this high, especially not when they hear the words, "Well, maybe we just don't belong together."

* * *

The next day is eeriely quiet when the kids wake up to go to school. The house has been cleaned, by some miracle. They're not exactly sure who did it or how, but they do know that their mothers definitely slept in separate rooms after the hour long argument they had. Neither Beca nor Chloe is seen before all eighteen of them depart for school.

The spend the rest of the day enjoying what will, probably, be their last week together, no one admitting to the feelings of deep guilty carried from splitting apart their parents, who were seemingly so happy. This guilt, however, is easily buried by the floods of good news that they receive. Bowie's band has been selected to play for the spring assembly, a  _huge_ break for them.

On top of this, Sadie learns that she is at the top of her graduating class, something that she's been working for since kindergarten, when she learned about the word "valedictorian".

This good news, however, all comes crashing down the minute they return home.

It's still eeriely silent. Uncomfortably silent. Even worse, both of their mothers are sitting together on the couch, eyes red and puffy, not speaking to each other, not even looking at each other.

"Kids," Chloe's voice strains weakly, beckoning for them to join them in the living room.

Once everyone has gathered, Beca manages to break the news: she has accepted a new job offer heading the main branch to her recording company over in London. As always, Beca has a plan. Beca Mitchell  _always_ has a plan.

"Chloe and her kids are going to move back to their old house," Beca says evenly. "And you guys are going to stay here with Aubrey and finish out the school year before you make the move over to London with me. Mr. Stone wants me over their right away, so unfortunately, it can't wait until summer vacation starts. I leave tomorrow afternoon."

The kids are completely silent. They don't dare say a word. Nothing like the stabbing guilt of watching their mother's, teary-eyed, announcing their separation in the living room. It feels less victorious than they thought it would. In fact, it's painful.

"Go on ahead upstairs," Beca says after a few moments of silence have passed. "I'm sure that you all have homework that needs to get done."

* * *

Beca's plane is set to leave in less than twenty-four hours.

"We have to fix this," Dylan is the first to blurt out.

The Littles are playing in their shared room, but the older kids have all gathered in the play room on an unspoken agreement after being dismissed from the living room.

"How?" Sadie recounts. "We made them fight for an hour last night. The last time I saw my mom cry this much was at Dad's funeral. That means that it's probably too late already."

"It's not too late," Bowie insists. "When Mom gets mad like that, it's because she cares."

"Do you really think we can fix it, Bow?" Axl counters, arms crossed over his chest. "Mom  _was_ pretty angry."

"I absolutely think that we can."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

* * *

The next morning rolls around far too quickly for anyone's liking, and the house is completely silent still. Beca spends the morning packing a suitcase for the week (she's having the rest of her things shipped out later). Chloe spends the morning avoiding Beca, and the children. Sadie tells them it's because she's crying, and she hates when other people, especially her children, see her crying.

Beca is quick to leave, briefly saying "goodbye" and "I love you" to her children before muttering something about missing a flight, and heading to her car, speeding off towards the airport.

The kids are fast to move in. They know that their time is limited.

"Hey guys," Chloe says, teary-eyed and embarrassed. "What can I do for you?"

"Go and get Mom back," the Little ones press, voices out of sync, making it even more well-meaning.

A fat tear rolls down Chloe's cheek.

"I think it's a little too late for that, loves," she admits sadly. "I'm afraid that when Beca makes up her mind about things, her decisions are final. She's stubborn like that." The last part comes out as a sad little laugh.

"Yes, and Mom made up her mind about marrying  _you_ , Chloe," Dylan adds. "My mom, who took two years of convincing to even  _consider_  working with Taylor Swift, married you a week after seeing you again. Which means that she really does love you."

"It's true," Presley adds with a chuckle, the others confirming Dylan's statement with reassuring nods.

"Our Mom is crazy and strict and stubborn as hell. And sometimes she can be a real asshole, but she loves you, Chloe," Bowie says. "And we know that you love her."

"And we're sorry that we didn't see that sooner," Sadie continues. "We were too busy worrying about ourselves and what we thought and how we felt to stop and think that maybe you both deserved to be happy."

"You haven't smiled like that since Daddy died," Daisy remarks.

Chloe lets out a choked sob.

"You guys are right," she admits tearfully.

"That's why we have to leave," Zevi insists. "Right now."

* * *

The drive to the airport is almost straight out of a car chase. Chloe, Sadie and the Littles are piled in Chloe's car, and Bowie and Dylan both take the remaining siblings in their cars. They make it in record time; a whopping twenty-five minutes, something almost unheard of, especially in California, where drivers are notorious for being terrible and traffic is known to take hours.

"Do you know what to do?" Sadie asks her mother as they sit in the parking lot.

"I think so," Chloe says hesitantly. "Are you really sure that this will work?"

"Positive, Mama," Sadie quickly reassures her. "Now, go! You don't have a lot of time before Beca's flight leaves. We'll meet you inside. Bowie's already in there."

"Right," Chloe nods.

And quickly, she unbuckles her seatbelt and climbs out of the car, running towards the airport as quickly as she possibly can. She has no time to spare. Until she hears the familiar shouts of "Ms. Beale! Ms. Beale!" and the flashing of camera lights. And of course, the stupid paparazzi are here. For the first time in her life, Chloe doesn't care for what they have to say or what kind of pictures they're getting of her right now. She has enough confidence in her public image that whatever happens today won't blemish her nearly spotless record.

"Chloe, what's happening between you and Beca?" someone calls out.

"Is it true that you aren't going off to London with Beca Mitchell?" another voice says.

Chloe ignores them all, continuing to quickly make her way into the airport, trying her hardest to look for the nearest security guard that she can. Her fingers are crossed (well, not really, metaphorically they are though), that Bowie has held up his end up of the bargain and that things have already gone according to plan. Her eyes finally lock with a security guard dressed in all black.

"Excuse me, sir," she says. "These paparazzi are bothering me and I really need to get a hold of my wife, Beca Mitchell. She's leaving for London on a flight in ten minutes, and she left her phone at the house. If I could just use your intercom system, that would be so helpful."

The security guard, of course, falls for the ploy. With Chloe Beale batting her eyelashes and throwing innocent, helpless smiles, no one in their right mind would turn her down. Hell, no matter what mood she was in, anyone would be stupid not to listen to her.

"Of course, Ms. Beale, right this way."

And just like that, she weaves her way through the airport traffic and to a small carpeted room.

"Oh my god, Chloe Beale?" one of the female security guards exclaims with excitement. "I loved your performance in  _Breakdown!_ Could I have your autograph?"

Chloe couldn't help but feel flattered by this; almost twenty years in show business and she was still always in awe of how receptive her fan base is. But there was important business at hand that needed to be dealt with first.

"Of course!" she replies cheerfully. "But there's something super important that I have to take care of first."

And she is quick to do so, grabbing a yellow cup filled with pens and dumping them haphazardly on the table before pressing the button to the intercom.

"Beca, I know that you're still here," she says over the speaker, somewhat out of breath. "And I'm really sorry that we fought. Please don't go to London. Let me make it up to you."

And before she knows it, she's making a familiar rhythm by pounding the cup, and hums along to the tune before she allows herself to start singing. It's been awhile since she's sung with people  _other_ than her children listening, but her voice is surprisingly silky and smooth as always.

"Meet us at Jackie's," she says with a finish, satisfied with her performance, hopeful that it worked.

As much as she knows that Beca  _hates_ movies, she does know that Beca is a sucker for romance. Though there is an underlying feeling of anxiety and a small voice in the back of her head whispering  _what if it didn't work_ , her hopes are high.

She signs the security guard's arm in Sharpie in a rush, just as promised.

(She tells Chloe, as she is running out the door, that she is going to get this tattooed on her arm)

And then, it's off to Jackie's, halfway across the airport, where all of the children are waiting for them, to see if the plan worked.

* * *

Beca is standing in line, waiting for her turn to board the flight to London, when she hears the sound system crackle to life and the familiar voice of her wife over the loudspeaker.

She pauses dead in her tracks, feeling her heart skip a beat as she listens to the redhead's message. Of course, leave it to Chloe, to wait last minute to win her back. She blames it on those romcoms that Chloe is always obsessed with.

But when she hears the familiar rhythmic pattern of a cup against a table, she knows what is about to follow.

"I got my ticket for the long way round. Two bottle whiskey for the way," Chloe voice floats majestically through the airport. People are stopping dead in their tracks to listen.

"Miss!" a voice shouts at her, pulling her attention away from Chloe's continued singing. "Miss, you're going to miss your flight!"

"It doesn't matter!" Beca shouts back at her, fingers wrapping tightly around her luggage handle. "I have to go!"

"Meet us at Jackie's," Chloe's voice instructs, concluding her performance.

That is enough to spur Beca onward towards her destination, heart pounding, wondering why the hell she even considered London without Chloe as an option. They were married, for better or for worse, no matter how bad their kids were.

"Mom! Mom!" voices shout at her from across the airport.

The older kids are all standing together in a large clump right outside of Jackie's; even Chloe's kids are there. They're smiling, almost as if they're happy that she's there. This is the first time, Beca notes, that she thinks she's ever seen Sadie smile. But the corner of her eye is quick to catch beautiful, red curls, and her eyes almost well up at the sight.

Chloe is standing there, looking perfect as ever, smiling at her, Harrison and Ozzy standing to her left, Soren and Dagny balanced, respectively, on both of her hips.

"I love you," Beca blurts out, running to her, enveloping herself in Chloe's smell.

"I'm so sorry that we fought," Chloe mumbles into her ear as they stand there, embracing in the middle of the airport.

"I'm sorry that I thought leaving was the right idea," Beca replies almost instantly afterwards. "Jack Stone could offer me the entire world, and I wouldn't take it, because it wouldn't have you or our children in it."

The kids are beaming around them with pride. Even passers by are enthralled by the scene, capturing it on their phones. Somehow, no paparazzi have managed to make it through to them. Chloe credits it to the security guards that were so kind in helping her out. The moment that their lips meet, a chorus of "awwws" resounds around them.

Beca is the first to break the kiss, a smirk on her face.

"Also, Beale, we need to talk about your song choice."

Chloe laughs.

"It got you to listen, did it not?" she replies.

"My high school audition song though? Really?"

"I did what had to be done," Chloe chuckles with a shrug.

"Just shut up and kiss me," Beca says with a roll of her eyes.

So Chloe does.


End file.
